Special Moves (12)

Learn the ins and outs of Street Fighter II's most devastating special moves! Master the Mid-Air Aerial Dive, Knee Dive, and Thunder Slam to dominate your opponents.

Alright, let's dive into some of the flashier, more damaging moves in Street Fighter II – the Special Moves! These aren't your everyday jabs and kicks; these are the big hitters that can really turn the tide of a match. We're going to cover three of them here: the Mid-Air Aerial Dive, the Knee Dive, and the Thunder Slam. Mastering these will definitely up your game!

Mid-Air Aerial Dive

This move is exactly what it sounds like: you dive down at your opponent from the air. It looks awesome and it hits hard, but be warned – it's pretty slow to start up, so a smart opponent can see it coming a mile away and block it or even counter-attack. You gotta be in the air to pull this off, and here's the weird part: you need to press all three kick buttons at the exact same time. It sounds tough, but practice makes perfect!

• SNES Default: Hold B + A + R while in mid-air.
• Genesis Default: Hold A + B + C while in mid-air.

Knee Dive

This is a great move for closing the distance and dealing some serious damage up close. You'll jump towards your opponent, ending with a powerful knee strike. It can be a little tricky to get the timing right since you're jumping in, but the payoff is worth it when you land it. The input involves a bit of a directional charge.

• SNES Default: Press Right, Down, then Down-Right, plus any punch button (Y).
• Genesis Default: Press Right, Down, then Down-Right, plus any punch button (X).

Thunder Slam

This one is a brutal-looking grab that deals a ton of damage if your opponent doesn't block it. It requires a bit of a circular motion on the D-pad, almost like you're trying to spin an analog stick. The key here is to be right up against your opponent ('Touching') when you input the final punch button. If they're caught off guard, they'll be taking a huge chunk of damage from this painful body slam!

• SNES Default: Press Left, Up-Left, Up, Up-Right, Right, Down-Right, Down, Down-Left, Left, then any punch button (Y) while touching the opponent.
• Genesis Default: Press Left, Up-Left, Up, Up-Right, Right, Down-Right, Down, Down-Left, Left, then any punch button (X) while touching the opponent.